Far Cry: Primal

Far Cry Primal succeeds in transporting the Far Cry formula back in time and comes to the table with a quiver of neat ideas and a dangerous and fascinating open world. The visceral and varied combat is fun, the beast-based gameplay is a winner, and the lure of camp-claiming, gear-crafting, beast hunting, and resource gathering remains irresistible.

Far Cry's new world and renewed focus on survival create a tense experience true to its setting.

A leaner, hungrier Far Cry from a bygone age that falls slightly short of achieving its potential.

It’s amazing how neatly the Far Cry formula fits into such a wildly different setting.

Far Cry Primal's lack of distractions keeps it exciting

Primal takes the great structure of the Far Cry series, but little of its character. No clear goal and a limited arsenal end up making this feel a little prehistoric itself.

Players who associate Far Cry with explosions and massive gunfights might find the setting disappointing, but it's one of my favorite entries in the series yet

Whether by accident, design or an emotive response to criticism of Far Cry 4, Ubisoft, via Primal, has given the franchise a huge new shot of vitality and freshness.

"Far Cry: Primal" won't re-wire your expectations of what a game can be but it has just enough energy to pleasurably distract one over the length of its journey.

I've had an enormous amount of fun playing this, obsessively clearing the map of icons, occasionally relenting and accepting I need to do one of the main quest threads to progress, riding around on the backs of mammoths, diving off cliffs into pools hundreds of feet below, wrestling crocodiles, being dazzled by sunsets, escaping labyrinthine caves, and using my "hunters vision" to track enormous beasts. It's undeniably great fun, and unquestionably a huge achievement. Just a very, very recognisable one, for all the best and worst reasons.